Jobs in Vietnam will increase by 14.5 percent by 2025, thanks to the country’s participation in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), the International Labour Organisation (ILO) forecasts.

Eight professions, including doctors, dentists and nurses, are allowed to seek employment freely within ASEAN after the AEC formation.

At a workshop in Hanoi on January 13, Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Doan Mau Diep said the AEC, formed on December 31, 2015, will help energise the bloc’s labour market and job creation in each member nation.

A considerable benefit from the AEC is the free movement of skilled labour. Through mutual recognition arrangements, the 10 ASEAN countries have allowed labourers in eight professions (doctors, dentists, nurses, accountants, surveyors, architects, engineers and tourism professionals) to seek employment freely within the bloc. The number of such professions could increase in the near future.

However, due to the current development gap, skillful labourers tend to move to more developed countries like Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. Most of the remaining workforce seeking jobs in the other nations have low-level qualifications, posing challenges to Vietnam in developing, stablising and managing the domestic labour market, Diep said.

According to an ILO survey, ASEAN businesses are now concerned about a shortage of skilled labour after the AEC’s establishment. About 50 percent of ASEAN employers said both manual workers and those with university degrees do not satisfy job qualification requirements.

Facing that fact, Government agencies, policy makers and enterprises must pay special attention to improving human resources’ competitiveness, supporting the free flow of skilled labour and managing overseas workers, workshop participants said.

To share prosperity and ensure better employment, many attendees stressed the need to promote connectivity within and outside of ASEAN, effectively shift economic and labour structures, capitalise on competitive edges, improve manpower quality, and deftly manage the labour market.

Additionally, it is necessary to fine-tune legal documents to protect employment for Vietnamese labourers, and effectively use foreign workers with high qualifications. Deputy Director of the labour ministry’s Employment Department Le Quang Trung urged the enhancement of law dissemination and coordination among State agencies in foreign worker management.

VNA